Claude_Verret Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 See that scum around the edge? That is krausen. Looks like it may be done fermenting. Agreed. See if you can borrow that hydrometer and get a gravity. Quote
sabills Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 Woo! Good news! haha Thanks all. Quote
Claude_Verret Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 Woo! Good news! haha Thanks all. With the dry yeast did you just pitch it dry into the cooled wort or did you reconstitute it first and then pitch? Quote
sabills Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 With the dry yeast did you just pitch it dry into the cooled wort or did you reconstitute it first and then pitch? hmm, just threw it in. I didn't see anything about reconstituting it, is that normal? Quote
Claude_Verret Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 hmm, just threw it in. I didn't see anything about reconstituting it, is that normal? Just sprinkling it on top of cooled wort is fine, but reconstituting in sterile water usually gives you a healthier yeast culture to pitch. Quote
sabills Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 Just sprinkling it on top of cooled wort is fine, but reconstituting in sterile water usually gives you a healthier yeast culture to pitch. Good to know, next time. Quote
LTS Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 Yea.. I generally avoid dry yeast as well. Wyeast is good but I've had really great results with White Labs. Always trust the gravity reading. We had a starter ferment overnight with no visible signs of fermentation. We thought it was dead but tested it and it apparently it was just really good yeast! Quote
Claude_Verret Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 Here are some good instructions for handling dry yeast from Palmers book. http://www.howtobrew...chapter6-5.html Quote
sabills Posted January 17, 2014 Report Posted January 17, 2014 Thanks again all, we're looking good over here now. Til that guy finishes up, I'm trying a new one to me tonight. Left Hand Brewing's Polestar Pilsner. Went to VBM expecting to get a pale ale of some sort, but the a 'real' pilsner intrigued me. Its definetly better than your standard Blue's and whatnot, a little more spice and flavor, nice and crisp mouthfeel. I was a little worried my years of Red Dog and other such nonsense had ruined real lagers for me, because the first sniff made me flashback to cleaning up beer swill the morning after parties, but this guy is growing on me. Quote
spndnchz Posted January 18, 2014 Report Posted January 18, 2014 Had a Stone Brewing Co. Enjoy by 02.14.14 IPA last night. Meh. Quote
elj4176 Posted January 20, 2014 Report Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) Stopped at Southern Tier over the weekend. They had a few new beers on tap. One was a belgian farmhouse ale called 'Steve'. It was ok. They had another belgian called 'Grand Arbor' that was all bubblegum. The Eurotrash pils was decent as usual - maybe a bit over-hopped. They have also expanded their food menu too. We didn't eat there but it all looked pretty good. Oddly enough, while there we ran into the guys that are opening the Phoenix Brewery in Mansfield. Small world. Edited January 20, 2014 by elj4176 Quote
LGR4GM Posted January 23, 2014 Report Posted January 23, 2014 Got a hot tip that this 1 bar in town has Terrapin White Chocolate Moo-Hoo (Chocolate Stout). Supposedly getting to go tomorrow to find out. I had regular Moo-Hoo the other day and if you can find some it is a really nice Chocolate Stout. The coffee and chocolate flavors mesh really well and make it a good beer with lots of flavor but nothing that overwhelms you. I actually like it better a bit warmer and it is my favorite winter beer. Quote
inkman Posted January 27, 2014 Report Posted January 27, 2014 Brewing my first batch of beer ever. Hope I don't screw this up. Wife bought me $15 beer making mix, I had to go spend another $150 on the kit to make the beer. The instructions are fairly detailed. Here's hoping... Quote
sabills Posted January 27, 2014 Report Posted January 27, 2014 Brewing my first batch of beer ever. Hope I don't screw this up. Wife bought me $15 beer making mix, I had to go spend another $150 on the kit to make the beer. The instructions are fairly detailed. Here's hoping... \ If theres a DVD with it I'd watch it, helped me alot. Quote
inkman Posted January 27, 2014 Report Posted January 27, 2014 If theres a DVD with it I'd watch it, helped me alot. There was a website address that had a video. It helped by I'm a little worried. Quote
Weave Posted January 27, 2014 Author Report Posted January 27, 2014 Ink, keep everything as clean as you can and it will likely turn out fine. Quote
inkman Posted January 27, 2014 Report Posted January 27, 2014 Ink, keep everything as clean as you can and it will likely turn out fine. I've been sanitizing the ###### out of my equipment :unsure: so I think I'm doing ok. Quote
inkman Posted January 27, 2014 Report Posted January 27, 2014 So...First batch down. Four and a half hours later and I'm just hoping for the best. My wife says the smell is going to make her barf. Quote
LTS Posted January 27, 2014 Report Posted January 27, 2014 So...First batch down. Four and a half hours later and I'm just hoping for the best. My wife says the smell is going to make her barf. Well.. then you probably did just fine. Fermenting beer never smells great until you've brewed many batches and develop a Pavlovian response. If she complained about the smell of a sugar solution boiling then I'd be worried. :) what did you make? Finally, had Brooklyn Fire and Ice last night (it's a draft only release). Smoked Porter... it was quite tasty. Quote
elj4176 Posted January 27, 2014 Report Posted January 27, 2014 (edited) So...First batch down. Four and a half hours later and I'm just hoping for the best. My wife says the smell is going to make her barf. Sounds about right. My wife had the same initial reaction to the smell but now after years of me brewing she actually likes the smell of grains and freshly added hops during the brewing process. edit- just kegged 5 gallons of my pale ale and I'm not impressed with it. I used 1098 yeast this time so maybe that's the difference. At least I have another 5 gallons with a different yeast to keg later. Edited January 31, 2014 by elj4176 Quote
inkman Posted February 8, 2014 Report Posted February 8, 2014 So I'm testing my batch to see if it's ready for bottling and it's quite bad. The liquid is quite cloudy with a heavy amount of sedimentation. Then there is the flavor...yikes. Quote
sabills Posted February 8, 2014 Report Posted February 8, 2014 So I'm testing my batch to see if it's ready for bottling and it's quite bad. The liquid is quite cloudy with a heavy amount of sedimentation. Then there is the flavor...yikes. From what I've been reading cloudyness is pretty normal pre-conditioning, it should settle out. Quote
inkman Posted February 8, 2014 Report Posted February 8, 2014 From what I've been reading cloudyness is pretty normal pre-conditioning, it should settle out. Yeah I've been reading today, my batch doesn't seem too far from the norm. Quote
sabills Posted February 8, 2014 Report Posted February 8, 2014 Yeah I've been reading today, my batch doesn't seem too far from the norm. Mine tasted kinda sour and stuff when I tried it, but you can't really tell til its done, apparently. Some types taste better than than others preconditioned, supposedly. Quote
inkman Posted February 9, 2014 Report Posted February 9, 2014 Mine tasted kinda sour and stuff when I tried it, but you can't really tell til its done, apparently. Some types taste better than than others preconditioned, supposedly. I am worried about my specific gravity. It was upwards of 1.2 Quote
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